File spoon-archives/heidegger.archive/heidegger_2001/heidegger.0111, message 48


From: "Michael Staples" <michael-AT-intersubjectivestudies.com>
Subject: RE: Zollikon: Unconscious
Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2001 19:24:59 -0800



In thinking about the role of the unconscious in psychopathology, I would
start with the notion of "Normalcy" and "Functional," both of which seem to
me to be relative to the culture into which one is thrown. For the most
part, "Normal" is culturally determined. The fact that some features of
"Normal" are consistent from culture to culture makes no difference to it's
relative nature, for lack of a better term.

One can feel abnormal to one's self (ego-dystonic). Or one can be deemed
abnormal by others while  feeling perfectly normal to one's self
(ego-syntonic). Presumably, feeling abnormal to one's self would indicate
that one is somehow out of whack with one's culture. Again, it's a relative
thing going on here. Same for "functionality." One feels "dysfunctional" if
the standard to which one compares one's self to is being violated. Or, you
can feel just fine about beating your wife, for instance, but be seen as
"dysfunctional" by others.

One of the principle goals of Insurance companies is to "cure" the
individual back into the sort of normalcy or functionality required to keep
working your fanny into the ground doing whatever soul-stripping, boring
work you might be faced with on a day-to-day basis (OK, OK, so this is a tad
negative -- I got carried away).

I don't think Jung would have placed much stock in the term "Normal." I
don't recall any talk one way or another here. But the term "Healthy" came
up. And healthy was generally associated with a sense of balance. But
balance between what and what? Well...balance between the conscious mind
(the ego), and the unconscious mind (the true Self) -- his map, not
necessarily mine. Indeed, the unconscious with Jung is given more than did
Freud. Freud thought of the unconscious as a kind of empty repository to be
filled up with stuff from the ego (consciousness). Jung thought of the
unconscious as a kind of background presence describing the other end of the
human being, the more important end, the spiritual end, with a goal of its
own that could easily run counter to the ego. But in either case (Freud's or
Jung's), the what was needed to be "healthy" was an appropriate balance
between the organization of the unconscious and the organization of
consciousness (note that I left out the 'organizing principle' of the
unconscious). The term "health" or to "Heal" is followed back through a
cognizant root that means to be whole. All the talk in Jungian parlance
about "Integration" refers to obtaining to wholeness. Schizophrenia (the
term which Jung helped coin) referred to a splitting off or splitting up of
the wholeness of the psyche. Complexes (anothr term which Jung coined)
referred to splinter psyche's. To heal meant to bring these split off parts
back to the psyche just as the healing of a bone means to fuse the split-off
ends together again.

Now there are all kinds of little mechanisms psychology has cooked up to
take these initial fantasies several steps further. But let me ask first if
you coule elaborate on what you suggested concerning determinism vs. free
will. This won't leave me alone. I'm wondering if this might not be more
important to our discussion that I had originally thought. After all, the
entire framework of the unconscious revolves around the questions of who or
what done-it. Dertminism would say that given your history, you had no
choice other than to leave the strainer out at that particular moment. Free
will would say that you merely chose to focus on something else, but you
"could have" popped the strainer in had you chose to do so. And the language
of the unconscious would say that some secondary subject (or, as I
suggested...some order to your world at the time) had a hand in the
coffee-making process that had some meaning that could be approached
hermeneutically. What would be the temporal approach to the event?

Michael S.





     --- from list heidegger-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---

   

Driftline Main Page

 

Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005